Columbus news

• Weekend shutdown talks led by Pence to go into a second day

  05-01-2019 21:50
  
  WASHINGTON — White House officials and congressional aides kicked off weekend talks aimed at ending a partial government shutdown that has dragged into a 15th day.Vice President Mike Pence, who led the conversation, described Saturday's session as "productive" on Twitter, although no breakthrough was reached. The White House aides and Democratic and Republican staffers planned to return to the talks on Sunday.Negotiations have been at an impasse over President Donald Trump's demands for $5
  
  Read more

• Trump says 'not much headway' in talks as shutdown drags on

  05-01-2019 21:50
  
  WASHINGTON — White House officials and congressional aides emerged from talks to reopen the government without a breakthrough Saturday, though they planned to return to the table the following day.President Donald Trump tweeted: "Not much headway made today." Democrats agreed there had been little movement, saying the White House did not budge on the president's key demand, $5.6 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.The White House said funding was not discussed in-depth, bu
  
  Read more

• Millions could face severe cuts to food stamps due to government shutdown

  05-01-2019 21:28
  
  The partial government shutdown glided into its third week Saturday with no end in sight. If the government is not reopened before February, millions of Americans who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- the nation's food stamp program -- could have their assistance disrupted.The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP at the federal level, is one of the agencies unfunded during the partial government shutdown. Although SNAP is automatically r
  
  Read more

• No. 8 Michigan State holds off No. 14 Ohio State 86-77

  05-01-2019 20:47
  
  COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cassius Winston scored 25 points, Nick Ward added 21 and No. 8 Michigan State extended its unbeaten streak to eight games with an 86-77 victory over No. 14 Ohio State on Saturday.The second half was tied six times before the Spartans took the lead on a Ward foul shot, and a layup by Kenny Goins put them up by three with 3:28 left.A Kyle Ahrens put-back at the 2:35 mark, a turnover by Ohio State's Keyshawn Woods and a pair of Aaron Henry foul shots all but sealed it for Mic
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Federal agencies directed to hold off on shutdown raises

  05-01-2019 19:46
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agencies have been directed to hold off enacting pay raises for top administration officials during a government shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay.The guidance was issued Friday in a memo from Margaret Weichert, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.The raises were the result of a pay freeze for top federal officials, including the vice president and cabinet secretaries, that was on the verge of expirin
  
  Read more

• Buckeye transfer QB Justin Fields attends Ohio State hoops game

  05-01-2019 19:10
  
  COLUMBUS, Ohio -The newest Buckeye, transfer quarterback Justin Fields, was in attendance for the Ohio State basketball game Saturday.Fields sat courtside between Urban Meyer and Dwayne Haskins watching the Buckeyes men's basketball team battle the Michigan State Spartans.Urban Meyer, Justin Fields, and Dwayne Haskins are at the #Buckeyes basketball game vs. Michigan State. #10TV pic.twitter.com/U5Z6CLdrmS— Wall to Wall Sports (@W2WSports) January 5, 2019
  Fields' transfer from Georgia to O
  
  Read more

• 80-year-old twins celebrate birthday with their 103-year-old mother

  05-01-2019 19:06
  
  BRUNSWICK, Maine (WBNS) - Twin siblings in Maine had a very special guest for their 80th birthday party - their 103-year-old mother!David Mosher and his twin sister Winnie Mosher Merrill celebrated their big day at the Sunnybrook Senior Village facility where their mother Helen Mosher lives. According to News Center Maine, Helen prayed for her family and the country at a celebratory lunch for her children.​​Helen has 79 descendants!And if you think watching your children reach octoge
  
  Read more

• Metro Parks host first Winter Hike of the season

  05-01-2019 19:02
  For the 46th year, Metro Parks is hosting it's annual Winter Hike series."The purpose of the winter hike is to get people out of their houses in the winter time," said Tim Moloney, executive director for the parks. "It’s a time that people want to sit around and watch TV."The series will host a winter hike every weekend at a different park across central Ohio through February."It's just healthy," Moloney said. "Not only cardiovascular, but just spiritually, mentally, everything to get outs
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Homeless people forced to clear out of Ohio tent city

  05-01-2019 18:27
  
  AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Homeless individuals are clearing out of a tent city after an Ohio city council voted last September to close the encampment.Akron officials posted a 30-day notice to vacate in early December. They've said in a news release that those who refuse to comply by the Saturday deadline are subject to further legal action.Local businessman Sage Lewis told the Akron Beacon Journal that more than 20 people will have to leave the makeshift village. He has housed homeless people on
  
  Read more

• Mardi Gras season kicks off with king cake, revelry

  05-01-2019 18:13
  
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As the rest of America winds down from the parties, overeating and merriment of Christmas and New Year's, New Orleans keeps the party going. Mardi Gras season officially kicks off Sunday. Jan. 6 is often referred to as Epiphany, Twelfth Night or Three Kings' Day and commemorates the day the Bible says the three wise men reached the baby Jesus. For weeks, the city is taken over by elaborate parades and people stuffing their faces with sugary king cake. The party culminate
  
  Read more

• Man accused of killing ex-girlfriend from Ohio, shooting another woman in Florida

  05-01-2019 17:25
  
  HAINES CITY, Fla. (AP) — Authorities have charged a man with killing his ex-girlfriend after she moved to Ohio to get away from him.Polk County Sheriff's officials say they found 66-year-old old Sandra Andrews on the porch of her Lake Wales home after midnight Saturday with a gunshot wound to her face. She said David Murdock shot her. Authorities found the body of 56-year-old old Lisa Bunce in a bedroom closet inside. She had been shot in the head.Friends told authorities Bunce and Murdock
  
  Read more

• National parks struggle to stay open, safe during shutdown

  05-01-2019 15:35
  
  Nonprofits, businesses and state governments nationwide are putting up money and volunteer hours in a battle to keep national parks safe and clean for visitors as the partial U.S. government shutdown lingers.But such makeshift arrangements haven't prevented some parks from closing and others from being inundated with trash. Support groups say donations of money and time could run short if the budget impasse between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats lasts much longer. Some are ca
  
  Read more

• Dog Walkers Weekly "Furr-cast" | January 5, 2018

  05-01-2019 14:57
  
  Welcome back, everyone! For you first-time readers, happy to have you here!This blog is dedicated to those dog lovers across central Ohio. Unless you have a large backyard, many of you probably walk your dog, or dogs, on a daily basis, and maybe even multiple times a day.The purpose and goal of this blog is to help those dog walkers and their furry friends make the most out of their walks outside while being safe at the same time.So, let's start things off with a look at what I call the "Comfort
  
  Read more

• Wall debate obscures other struggles at the border

  05-01-2019 13:46
  
  SAN DIEGO — In Washington, it's all about the wall. At the border, it's only part of the story.Border authorities are struggling with outdated facilities ill-equipped to handle the growing increase in family migrants, resulting in immigrants being released onto the streets every day. The immigration court system is so clogged that some wait years for their cases to be resolved, and lacks funding to pay for basic things like in-person translators. An increase in sick children arriving at th
  
  Read more

• Police say armed man was buzzed into elementary school

  05-01-2019 13:42
  
  DARBY, Pa. — Police say a man with a loaded handgun was buzzed into an elementary school near Philadelphia and was later arrested after trying to get inside nearby houses.Darby Borough Police Chief Robert Smythe says the man, 21-year-old Nazher Sabree, was recognized as a former student by an office employee and allowed into Park Lane School in Darby on Friday. Sabree told the principal he was looking for a bag he'd lost and she escorted him out of the building.He was then seen trying to g
  
  Read more

• Congresswoman displays transgender pride flag outside office

  05-01-2019 13:36
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A newly elected Virginia congresswoman is displaying a transgender pride flag outside her Washington office.Rep. Jennifer Wexton is a Democrat from the 10th District in northern Virginia who was sworn in Thursday. The pink-, blue- and white-striped flag is displayed at the door to her office, along with the U.S. and Virginia flags.In a statement, Wexton says she’s displaying the flag because she has family members and friends who are transgender. Chief of Staff Abig
  
  Read more

• Weather Channel app accused of selling users' personal data

  05-01-2019 13:29
  
  LOS ANGELES — People relied on the most popular mobile weather app to track forecasts that determined whether they chose jeans over shorts and packed a parka or umbrella, but its owners used it to track their every step and profit off that information, Los Angeles prosecutors said Friday.The operator of The Weather Channel mobile app misled users who agreed to share their location information in exchange for personalized forecasts and alerts, and they instead unwittingly surrendered person
  
  Read more

• Lowe's plans to hire 65,000 workers this year

  05-01-2019 13:19
  
  Home-improvement giant Lowe's said Friday it plans to hire more than 65,000 workers in 2019, most for seasonal jobs.Later this month, the company will start posting more than 50,000 seasonal jobs to help customers with spring indoor and outdoor projects at certain locations, the retailer announced. It plans to add nearly 10,000 permanent merchandising personnel, as well as 6,000 full-time store managers and department supervisors.Lowe's also plans to fill more than 2,000 technology positions, in
  
  Read more

• Ethics group wants Ivanka Trump investigated for tax break program

  05-01-2019 13:05
  
  An ethics watchdog group asked the Justice Department on Friday to investigate whether President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka violated federal conflict-of-interest law by advocating for an Opportunity Zone tax break program from which she could potentially benefit.The complaint from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington follows an Associated Press investigation last month. The AP found that Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House advisers, could benefit from th
  
  Read more

• Real estate broker and man who returned $10K check help the homeless

  05-01-2019 12:53
  
  New Haven, Conn. — Many homeless people are haunted by drug addiction, mental illness or a criminal past. Indeed, Elmer Alvarez knows those demons all too well. But he said just because a person is without a home, it doesn't mean they're void of character.For example, the day he found a check for $10,000, he said the first thing that came to mind was, "I got to look for this person." He said it never crossed his mind to try and get it cashed."It never crossed my mind because I made a decis
  
  Read more

• Ocasio-Cortez responds to critics of leaked video with a new dance

  05-01-2019 12:46
  
  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has responded to a "leaked" video from her college years, which shows her dancing on a roof. The polarizing video was originally shared by Twitter users attempting to shame Ocasio-Cortez. Many felt the plan backfired, and it actually made her seem fun.In a new video posted to her Twitter on Friday, the newly-elected congresswoman danced to "War (What Is It Good For?)" by Edwin Starr.I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous.Wait till they find out Congressw
  
  Read more

• Trump says he is considering calling a national emergency to build wall

  05-01-2019 12:32
  
  President Trump is still locked in a heated battle with congressional Democrats over funding for a border wall between U.S. and Mexico, telling reporters Friday that he believes the ongoing partial government shutdown could continue for over a year. But he acknowledged that there is another way to get the wall built without negotiating for $5.6 billion in funding from Congress. Mr. Trump said that he was considering calling a national emergency at the border so that the wall could be built witho
  
  Read more

• McDonald's employee who defended herself from customer speaks out

  05-01-2019 12:23
  
  Days after a video of a Florida McDonald's employee being attacked by a customer went viral, she spoke to CBS affiliate WTSP about defending herself –– and why workplace safety needs to improve at the fast food chain.Yasmine James, 20, started working at the McDonald's in St. Petersburg three months ago. On Monday, a customer got aggressive when she informed him he had to ask for a straw. After cursing and yelling at her, she said he leaned over the counter and attacked her."He grabb
  
  Read more

• Good Samaritan helps boy buy mom coat for Christmas

  05-01-2019 12:06
  
  A mother from Indiana is looking for a Good Samaritan who helped her 11-year-old son purchase a Christmas gift for her. LaDonna Wattley said her son Gabe had noticed she needed a new coat, and picked one out at Target, only to realize he couldn't afford it,WXIN reports.A Good Samaritan in the checkout line gave the boy $60 so he could buy the present for his mom. "He had actually bought me a winter coat. For a lot of reasons it choked me up," Wattley said. "For the last two years, the coat I was
  
  Read more

• Police: 3 dead, 4 injured in bowling alley shooting

  05-01-2019 11:13
  
  A late-night fight at a California bowling alley turned deadly Friday night, killing three men and injuring four.The Torrance Police Department responded to calls of "shots fired" at the Gable House Bowl shortly before midnight.Multiple victims were found with gunshot wounds inside Gable House Bowl, which is described on its website as a gaming venue that offers bowling, laser tag and a full arcade.Police said three men died at the scene and four male victims were injured, two of whom were trans
  
  Read more

• Former Pickerington sergeant talks about current chief's alleged misconduct

  05-01-2019 04:29
  COLUMBUS, Ohio - When Pickerington City Manager Frank Wiseman sat down with 10TV confirming an investigation into police chief Michael Taylor about allegations of sexist, homophobic and racial comments, Wiseman said in Taylor's 35 plus years he has had a solid reputation and his integrity has never been questioned.According to documents from a civil case out of Fairfield County in the early 1990s, two women, who were a Pickerington dispatcher and a police officer, accused seven defendants of sex
  
  Read more

• Push for bias training in Cincinnati after officers used racial slurs

  05-01-2019 03:21
  The Cincinnati mayor said he will introduce legislation requiring mandatory bias sensitivity training following the release of body camera footage showing officers using a racial slur during two separate police calls last year. The new training would be required for all all city employees, including police officers, and would cover both explicit and implicit bias, Mayor John Cranley announced Friday."We need to set a clear moral tone as to what's right and wrong, and using the N-word is wrong,"
  
  Read more

• Oklahoma hires Ohio State's Alex Grinch as defensive coordinator

  05-01-2019 01:58
  
  Ohio State's Alex Grinch has taken the defensive coordinator job at the University of Oklahoma.Grinch only spent one season with the Buckeyes where he served as a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.Grinch was hired at Ohio State in January 2018after being the defensive coordinator at Washington State.Before coaching at Washington State, Grinch coached the secondary at Missouri, Wyoming and New Hampshire.
  
  Read more

• Award Winner and More in Theaters This Weekend

  05-01-2019 00:30
  It is a slow week, but that doesn’t mean you should skip the movies. The film our own Columbus Film Critics Association deemed best of 2018 opens this weekend, as well as a horror movie that will never receive that kind of press. If Beale Street Could Talk by George Wolf Writer/director Barry Jenkins follows […]
  
  Read more

• New senator takes oath on a copy of Constitution instead of Bible

  05-01-2019 00:28
  
  Kyrsten Sinema chose not to hold the traditional Bible when she was sworn in Thursday as a U.S. senator from Arizona. Instead, she held a copy of the Constitution.A spokesperson for the first-term Democrat said she chose to use a book from the Library of Congress that contains the texts of the Arizona and U.S. Constitutions, reports azcentral.com. "Kyrsten always gets sworn in on a Constitution simply because of her love for the Constitution," Sinema spokesman John LaBombard told the local news
  
  Read more

• Columbus Film Critics Name Year’s Best

  05-01-2019 00:23
  For the 17th year, Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) met to applaud the best film had to offer. A set of 26 print, radio, television and online critics, the group’s list of 2018 winners offered more surprises than usual, says COFCA president Mark Pfeiffer (Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema, Filmbound). Among those honored, Barry Jenkins’s […]
  
  Read more

• Police: Boy found in storage unit last went to school in May

  05-01-2019 00:17
  
  DENVER (AP) — Investigators believe a 7-year-old boy found dead in a Denver storage unit just before Christmas last attended school in late May, a police spokesman said Friday.Sgt. John White said investigators are focused on what happened to the boy between then and Dec. 23, when police found his body inside the storage facility after getting information from police in neighboring Aurora.A woman believed to be the boy's mother, 43-year-old Elisha Pankey, turned herself in to police on Wed
  
  Read more

• Police: 32-year-old enrolls in high school as teen

  05-01-2019 00:12
  
  CAIRO, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a 32-year-old woman posed as a 15-year-old homeless teen to enroll in an upstate New York high school.Greene County Sheriff's Investigator Joel Rowell says Michaelann Goodrich, of Cairo in the Catskills, was charged Dec. 28 with offering a false instrument for filing, falsifying business records and criminal trespassing. She was released from jail after a court appearance Thursday evening.District Superintendent Anthony Taibi says Goodrich enrolled at Cairo-Du
  
  Read more

• Baby sitter accused of killing boy and giving body to mother

  05-01-2019 00:06
  
  WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin baby sitter who allegedly killed a 2-month-old boy then pretended he was alive when she gave the boy back to his mother has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide.A criminal complaint filed Friday says 28-year-old Marissa Tietsort of Wausau caused the infant's death in October, then put him in a snowsuit and car seat and returned him to his mother — without telling her the child was dead.Authorities found the mother trying to revive the bo
  
  Read more

Follow @Colombus_News on Twitter!